HD: 1080p TVs

1080p, the so-called "holy grail" of high definition, is pretty near impossible to come by at the moment, particularly here in the UK.

Basically, it's a higher resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels progressively scanned; as opposed to the 'normal' HD Ready TVs which usually have a resolution of 1280 x 720 or 1366 x 768, which can be used to display 720p or 1080i content. In theory therefore, 1080p should give a sharper, more detailed picture. More on all this and the pros and cons of each in a later post. (If you want to read more on this now, try this, it's quite techie though).

Anyway, with the imminent launch of next generation technologies like Blu-Ray and the PS3 that are capable of outputting 1080p, we are seeing more and more 1080p TVs being launched or announced. Here are a few examples of some of the 1080p capable TVs that are either already available or coming soon:

Sony KDL-46X2000
Sharp LC65GD1E
Sharp LC-37D90U
Panasonic VIERA PZ600 series
Toshiba 47WLT66 and 42WLT66

So there you go. They are about, if you're prepared to pay top dollar! I'm certainly waiting for the dust to settle a bit with HD before I get myself a 1080p set.

Tags: hd, 1080p, high definition, tv, sony, sharp, panasonic, toshiba, plasma, lcd

More delays for Vista?

A few sites are reporting today that Microsoft is being cagey again about Windows Vista release dates. Macworld reports:

At its annual Financial Analyst Meeting on Thursday, Kevin Johnson, co-president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division, said that while Vista development remains on track for now, Microsoft won't ship the OS until the company thinks it's ready.

"There is no data that says we're not going to make the November business availability," Johnson said, speaking to analysts and media on Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus. However, he said that the company continues to evaluate Vista "milestone by milestone" and will ship the product "when it's ready" rather than according to a hard and fast schedule.

Whether they are just being cautious because they've been burnt so many times with Vista release dates already remains to be seen.

Tags: microsoft, vista, delay

ATO's new iSee for HD

For those non-video iPod owners ATO has had an iSee product available for a while that lets you store videos on your pod and play em back through its sleeve-like adaptor. The announcement of an upcoming HD capable version at a relatively low price $200-250 makes for an interesting device for mobile video junkies with older iPods and spare gigs lying around.

Personally I'm going through a film or so a day with my PSP on the comute, its biggest drawback being the memory stick capacity. The chance to use some of that free space on my 60gig iPod is pretty tempting, especially as the ATO iSee sports a good sized 3.5 LCD display.

Intel Core 2 Duo launched

Good news for us. Bad news for AMD.

It only seems like yesterday that the existing Intel Core chips were launched but now PC and Mac users alike will soon be enjoying the advantages of Core 2 in their computers.

Essentially the new chips offer greater performance for the same power usage as their predecessors and from the looks of early benchmarks trounce anything from AMD.

Exciting times, particularly for Mac users who aren't used to new chips coming along every few months! How long before we see updates to the Macbook Pro with these chips...? Mmmmm.

Tags: intel, core 2 duo, core, duo, amd, apple, mac, processor

Skype release beta for Mac with Video

Finally, after what seems an age Skype pulls its finger out and gives Mac users video - albeit in beta. Was hoping this would replace SightSpeed, however apparently they've a new vid codec launching today which is supposed to greatly improve their offering. Guess I need to try both out to find a winner. What I really want is iChat AV to work with PC users too - I can dream I suppose.

Front Row interface for EyeTV

Now this is interesting. Anyone that's got an EyeTV device for their Mac that enables them to watch TV will like this one. Seems Elgato have created a perfect mimic of the Front Row interface for the EyeTV software that allows you to control it from across the room using either an Apple remote or the remote that came with your EyeTV device.

There's a video of it in action over at ScreenCastsOnline.

It does look pretty cool, it has to be said. Makes me wonder whether they had Apple's blessing to do this. I mean it makes sense to have this software integrated with Front Row from Apple's perspective, it fills one of the major missing pieces.

Grab version 2.3 of EyeTV from the Elgato website.

Tags: eyetv, front row, apple, mac, elgato, tv

Bluetooth mighty mouse!

At long last Apple have decided to release a wireless version of their multi-buttoned, mighty mouse. This one packs bluetooth and a laser tracker (as opposed to normal optical on the wired version). I'll be getting me one of these! Check it out.

Tags: apple, mighty mouse, mouse, bluetooth, wireless, laser